;! 


/ 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES 


CAPTAIN  EBENEZER  DAVIS, 


AND    HIS    SON, 


THE  HON.  CHARLES  STEWART  DAVEIS, 


OF    PORTLAND,    MAINE, 


fHcmbcrs  of  tfje  fHassacfyusctts  $ocutg  of  tfje  tfunctnnatt. 


BY 

DAVID   G.   HASKINS,   JE., 

CAMBRIDGE,    MASSACHUSETTS. 


CAMBRIDGE: 
PRESS   OF  JOHN  WILSON  AND   SON. 

1873. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


EBENEZER    DAVIS. 

Ebenezer  Davis  or  Davies  —  the  name  appears  in  both 
forms  —  was  born  in  the  little  village  of  Newton,  in  the 
south-eastern  corner  of  New  Hampshire,  about  the  year 
1753.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  who,  according  to  family- 
tradition,  removed  to  some  part  of  Worcester  County,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Hik  mother  was  a  Miss  Stuart,  probably  of 
Scottish  descent.  He  had  two  younger  brothers :  William, 
who  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  afterwards  lived 
in  Haverh'ill,  Mass.,  until  his  death  ;  and  Charles,  who  died 
in  the  West  Indies. 

The  name  of  Davis  was  borne  by  several  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Haverhill,  from  one  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
notice  was  probably  descended. 

In  spite  of  some  little  family  opposition,  Mr.  Davis  took 
up  arms  with  the  very  earliest  in  the  cause  of  the  colonies. 
The  alarm  of  the  memorable  19th  of  April,  1775,  which 
roused  the  whole  province,  called  out  the  minute-men 
of  Bradford,  who,  under  Capt.  Nathaniel  Gage,  marched 
promptly  to  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  and  served  seven  days. 
Mr.  Davis,  who  was  then  living  in  Bradford,  was  a  private 
in  this  company,  with  which  he  soon  after  enlisted  in  Col. 
James  Frye's  regiment  of  eight  months'  men  from  Essex 
County.  The  regiment  was  stationed  at  Cambridge  ;  and 
a  portion  of  it,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Brickett,  formed  a  part 


of  the  original  detachment  which,  on  the  night  of  June  16, 
under  command  of  Col.  Prescott,  occupied  Breed's  Hill, 
and  threw  up  the  famous  redoubt.  Mr.  Davis  took  part 
in  the  conflict  of  the  next  day,  in  which  his  regiment 
suffered  a  loss  of  fifteen  killed  and  thirty-one  wounded. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1776,  Mr.  Davis  seems  to  have 
re-enlisted,  as  a  sergeant,  under  Capt.  Joshua  Read,  in  the 
regiment  of  Col.  James  M.  Varnum,  of  Rhode  Island.  This 
corps  remained  Avith  the  beleaguering  force  until  the  fall 
of  Boston,  when  it  was  ordered,  with  the  main  body  of  the 
army,  to  New  York,  and  followed  the  fortunes  of  Wash- 
ington through  the  whole  of  the  checkered  campaign  of 
1776.  Mr.  Davis  was  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains,  and 
also  at  Trenton  and  Princeton. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1777,  he  enlisted  as  a  sergeant 
under  Capt.  Samuel  Carr,  in  the  9th  regiment  of  the 
Massachusetts  line,  Col.  James  Wesson,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  until  March  2,  1779,  when  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  ensign. 

He  fought  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown  in  1777,* 
and  in  1778  at  Monmouth,  where  his  regiment  formed  a 
part  of  Wayne's  brigade  in  Gen.  Lee's  command,  and  Col. 
Wesson  received  a  severe  wound. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1781,  the  regiment  was  consoli- 
dated with  that  of  Col.  Henry  Jackson.  In  the  autumn, 
Ensign  Davis  was  at  Yorktown,  as  assistant  commissary  of 
issues  to  the  first  brigade  of  light  infantry ;  a  fine  corps, 
which,  it  will  be  recollected,  did  good  service  in  the  siege 
under  La  Fayette.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  he  was 

*  Col.  Wesson's  regiment  is  said  to  have  been  at  Saratoga  with  Gates's 
Northern  army,  in  1777.  The  Hon.  Charles  S.  Daveis,  however,  stated  ex- 
plicitly that  his  father  was  at  Brandywine  and  Germantown,  and  that  he  was 
not  at  Saratoga  ;  and  he  often  reiterated  the  fact  that  his  father  served  in 
every  battle  in  which  Washington  was  engaged.  It  is  not  easy  now  to  har- 
monize these  conflicting  statements. 


at  this  time  attached  to  the  picked  regiment  of  New  Eng- 
land light  infantry,  which,  under  command  of  Major 
Nathan  Rice,'  formed  a  part  of  the  brigade. 

In  1782  we  find  Ensign  Davis  on  the  roll  of  Col.  Michael 
Jackson's  regiment,  the  redoubtable  "  bloody  eighth." 
On  the  3d  of  September,  1781,  a  board  was  appointed  to 
arrange  the  rank  of  the  subaltern  officers  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts line,  and  in  their  report  he  appears  as  the  eighth 
on  the  list  of  ensigns. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1782,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant.  In  the  following  year  he  was  lieu- 
tenant in  Capt.  John  Hobby's  company  of  the  3d  regiment, 
Col.  Greaton ;  and  by  the  return  of  April  16,  1783,  he  ap- 
pears as  brigade  quartermaster.  He  had  thus  served  his 
country  with  credit  for  eight  years,  through  the  whole  of 
her  desperate  struggle  for  independence,  and  had  fought  in 
every  battle  at  which  Washington  had  himself  been  present. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  Lieut.  Davis  returned  to 
Bradford,  where  he  was  married,  in  July,  1785,  to  Pris- 
cilla,  daughter  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  and  Priscilla  (Kimball) 
Griffin,  of  that  town.  At  about  this  time  he  removed  to 
Portland  (then  called  Falmouth),  where  he  built  a  house 
on  Free  Street,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His 
wife  died  with  her  infant  child  ;  and  Mr.  Davis,  on  the 
28th  of  July,  1787,  was  married  at  Portland  to  her  younger 
sister,  Mehitable,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  the  late  Hon. 
Charles  Stewart  Daveis,  President  of  the  Massachusetts 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

In  1786  Mr.  Davis's  name  appears  among  the  signatures 
to  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Falmouth  Neck  for 
the  incorporation  of  Portland,  and  that  it  might  be  made 
the  shire  town.  He  is  said  to  have  been  on  the  commit- 
tee to  name  the  town,  and  held  several  small  offices  after 
the  incorporation.  On  the  llth  of  June,  1798,  he  was 
2 


appointed  at  a  town  meeting  on  a  committee  to  "  procure 
labor  and  materials  to  erect  necessary  defences,  and  to 
superintend  the  erection  of  the  same." 

Mr.  Davis  cherished  an  ardent  fondness  for  military  life, 
and  was  anxious  to  take  part  in  the  French  Revolution. 
On  the  5th  of  February,  1787,  he  was  commissioned  cap- 
tain in  the  sixth  division  of  the  Massachusetts  militia; 
and  a  letter  is  preserved,  written  by  him  on  the  5th  of 
June,  1798,  to  Major-Gen.  Shepard,  then  in  Congress, 
asking  the  influence  of  the  latter  with  the  President  to 
obtain  for  him  a  commission  in  the  new  army  then  raising 
by  the  government. 

He  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  on  the  14th  of  November, 
1799,  aged  about  forty-six  years,  exactly  one  month  before 
his  great  Revolutionary  chieftain.  His  wife  survived  him, 
and  on  the  7th  of  November,  1800,  was  married  to  John 
McLellan,  of  Portland.  She  died  on  the  21st  of  April, 
1823,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years. 

Capt.  Davis  is  described  as  a  man  of  fine  personal 
appearance  and  manners,  with  a  military  bearing,  tall  and 
well  proportioned,  and,  as  a  young  man,  athletic  and 
active.  He  adhered  in  his  dress  to  the  fashions  of  the 
old  school,  —  the  cocked  hat  and  small-clothes  of  colonial 
days.  A  member  of  the  Federalist  party,  he  steadily  sup- 
ported Washington  at  the  polls,  as  he  had  so  often  done  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

CHARLES    STEWART    DAVEIS. 

Charles  Stewart  Daveis,  the  only  son  of  Capt.  Ebenezer 
Davis  and  his  wife  Mehitable  Griffin,  was  born  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  on  the  10th  of  May,  1788. 

By  his  father's  early  death,  in  1799,  he  was  left  at  the 
age  of  eleven  years  to  the  care  of  an  excellent  mother. 
After  receiving  the  rudiments  of  his  education  in  his 


native  town,  he  was  sent,  in  June,  1802,  to  Phillips  Acad- 
emy, Andover,  where,  under  the  instruction  of  its  prin- 
cipal, Mark  Newman,  he  was  fitted  for  college.  In  1803, 
he  entered  Bowdoin  College,  then  in  its  infancy,  and  grad- 
uated in  1807,  at  the  head  of  its  second  class.  As  the 
class  at  Commencement  comprised  only  three  members, 
each  of  them  was  obliged  to  take  two  parts,  in  order  to 
fill  up  the  programme.  Mr.  Daveis  delivered  a  poem  on 
"  Tradition,"  and  a  valedictory  oration  on  the  "  Infirmity 
of  Theory,"  in  the  conclusion  of  which  he  alluded  with 
much  feeling  to  the  recent  death  of  the  President,  Dr. 
Me  Keen. 

On  leaving  college,  in  Aug.  1807,  Mr.  Daveis  entered 
the  law  office  of  Nicholas  Emery,  Esq.,  of  Portland ; 
and,  after  three  years  of  diligent  study,  was  in  1810  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  as  an  attorney  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas.  Dismissing  some  vague  thoughts  he  had  enter- 
tained of  seeking  his  fortune  in  the  ever-attractive  West, 
he  opened  an  office  in  Portland,  where  he  remained  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  his  long  professional  career. 

The  bar  of  Cumberland  County  was  renowned  for 
talent ;  and  Mr.  Daveis  came  into  successful  competition 
with  very  able  lawyers,  among  whom  he  took  a  high  rank, 
distinguishing  himself  by  the  learning  of  his  legal  argu- 
ments, and  the  convincing  power  of  his  addresses  in  jury 
cases. 

While  he  was  well  versed  in  the  principles  of  the  Com- 
mon Law,  it  was  in  the  less  known  branches  of  Equity 
and  Admiralty  that  he  acquired  his  chief  reputation.  He 
was  almost  the  first  in  the  State  to  devote  attention  to 
equity  practice,  of  which  the  older  members  of  the  bar 
were  generally  ignorant  and  distrustful ;  and  his  acquire- 
ments in  this  branch  were  highly  esteemed  by  Judge  Story, 
who  was  his  warm  personal  friend,  and  for  whom  he  cher- 


ished  the  strongest  admiration.  He  was  an  eminent  admi- 
ralty lawyer,  fearlessly  espousing,  at  the  risk  of  his  personal 
safety,  the  cause  of  the  sailors,  who  were  then  regarded 
when  at  sea  as  little  better  than  slaves ;  a  condition  of 
things  which  he,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Justice  Ware, 
the  learned  and  able  Judge  of  the  United  States  District 
Court,  did  much  to  amend. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1815,  Mr.  Daveis  was  married  at 
Exeter,  N.H.,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Taylor  Oilman,  youngest 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  John  Taylor  Gilman,  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  his  wife  Deborah,  daughter  of  Major- 
Gen.  Nathaniel  Folsom,  of  Exeter. 

In  1818,  on  the  election  of  Samuel  Fessenden  as  major- 
general  of  the  twelfth  division  of  Massachusetts  militia, 
Mr.  Daveis  accepted  a  position  on  his  staff,  as  division 
inspector,  which  he  retained  until  1827,  when,  on  the 
accession  of  his  personal  friend,  Enoch  Lincoln,  to  the 
office  of  Governor,  he  received  from  the  latter  an  appoint- 
ment as  his  senior  aide. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  first  took  an  active  part  in 
connection  with  the  controversy,  with  which  for  many 
years  he  was  so  intimately  associated ;  and  of  the  history, 
facts,  arguments,  and  condition  of  which  he  has  been  pro- 
nounced on  good  authority  to  have  known  more  than  any 
other  man  in  the  state  or  nation.  This  was  the  dispute 
relating  to  the  north-eastern  boundary  of  Maine,  which  had 
been  for  many  years  pending  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  but  was  now  suddenly  brought  to  a 
crisis  \)y  the  action  of  the  Provincial  authorities  of  New 
Brunswick,  in  serving  legal  process  on  American  settlers 
in  the  disputed  country ;  and  especially  in  arresting  on 
his  own  land,  granted  to  him  by  the  States  of  Maine  and 
Massachusetts,  one  John  Baker,  a  citizen  of  the  former 
State,  whom  they  carried  to  Fredericton  for  trial.  Gov. 


Lincoln  promptly  despatched  Col.  Daveis  as  special  agent 
of  the  State,  bearing  a  letter  to  Sir  Howard  Douglas, 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  Brunswick,  to  obtain 
information  with  regard  to  these  aggressions,  and  to 
demand  the  release  of  Baker.  Proceeding  to  St.  Ste- 
phen's, Mr.  Daveis  hired  horses  and  a  guide,  and  set  out 
across  the  country  for  Fredericton,  a  distance  of  over 
eighty  miles,  arriving  on  the  25th  of  Nov.  1827,  after  a 
journey  of  four  days  through  the  wilderness,  performed 
partly  on  horseback  and  partly  on  foot,  over  miserable 
roads.  The  Governor  declined  to  recognize  him  in  an 
official  capacity ;  but  he  was  treated  with  the  most  distin- 
guished politeness,  during  his  stay,  by  the  members  of  the 
government,  officers,  and  gentry  of  the  place.  After  some 
delay,  owing  to  the  Governor's  illness,  Mr.  Daveis  pro- 
ceeded to  Houlton  and  Woodstock,  and  collected  what 
evidence  he  was  able,  in  the  absence  of  official  recognition, 
to  obtain,  in  relation  to  the  British  aggressions.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1828,  he  returned  to  Portland,  and  on  the  31st  of 
that  month  presented  to  Gov.  Lincoln  a  report  setting 
forth  at  length  the  information  that  he  had  acquired  on  the 
subject.  The  mission  had  proved  unsuccessful,  and  Baker 
was  tried  and  convicted  in  spite  of  all  remonstrances. 

The  controversy,  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty  of 
Ghent,  and  by  virtue  of  a  convention  between  the  two 
governments,  was  now  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands ;  and  the  Hon.  Albert  Galla- 
tin,  and  Judge  Preble,  of  Portland,  were  appointed  com- 
missioners to  prepare  the  American  case.  Judge  Preble, 
who  was  sent  as  minister  to  the  Hague,  was  anxious  to 
avail  himself  of  Mr.  Daveis's  valuable  services  in  the 
capacity  of  Secretary  of  Legation,  an  office  which  the  lat- 
ter declined.  He  consented,  however,  on  the  earnest  solici- 
tation of  the  Judge,  to  accept  an  appointment  as  special 


10 


confidential  agent  of  the  United  States,  to  take  charge 
of  the  materials  of  the  American  case,  and  to  lay  them 
before  the  arbiter.  Sir  Howard  Douglas,  recalled  from 
New  Brunswick,  was  charged  by  the  British  government 
with  a  similar  mission.  Mr.  Daveis  sailed  from  New  York 
for  Havre  on  the  llth  of  January,  1830,  and  on  the  13th 
of  March  reached  the  Hague,  where  he  employed  himself 
vigorously  in  assisting  to  prepare  the  case  for  presentation. 
After  completing  his  duties  here,  he  made  a  brief  trip  to 
England  and  Scotland,  in  the  course  of  which  he  spent 
much  time  attending  the  courts  at  Westminster  Hall,  and 
the  debates  of  Parliament,  and  also  had  the  opportunity 
of  making  the  acquaintance  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  period.  On  the  llth  of  July  he  sailed  from 
Liverpool,  and  reached  Boston  in  safety,  after  a  long 
voyage. 

The  unsatisfactory  award  of  the  arbiter  —  being  a  mere 
suggestion  of  a  compromise  —  was  not  recognized  as  bind- 
ing by  the  United  States.  The  question  remained  open  ; 
and,  after  some  disheartening  years  of  ill-conducted  and 
fruitless  negotiation,  a  bill  was  at  length  introduced  into 
Congress,  providing  for  a  survey  by  national  authority  of 
the  disputed  border  line.  Anxious  to  secure  its  passage, 
the  Hon.  Edward  Kent,  at  this  time  Governor  of  Maine, 
with  the  advice  of  his  council,  on  the  25th  of  April,  1838, 
commissioned  Mr.  Daveis  under  the  great  seal  of  the  State 
as  a  special  agent  to  co-operate  with  the  Maine  delegation 
in  Congress  in  attaining  that  result,  and  also  to  attend  to 
some  other  matters  connected  with  the  controversy.  Mr. 
Daveis  reached  Washington  on  the  10th  of  May,  and 
devoted  himself  ardently  to  the  work.  The  results  were 
eminently  favorable.  A  general  interest  in  the  subject 
was  awakened  ;  and,  although  the  bill  was  laid  on  the  table, 
resolutions  reported  in  the  Senate  by  the  Hon.  James 


11 


Buchanan  were  unanimously  adopted  in  both  branches, 
strongly  maintaining  the  right  of  Maine  in  the  contro- 
versy. Of  Mr.  Daveis's  efforts  Gov.  Kent  says :  "  I  think 
I  can  confidently  say  that  no  agent  or  envoy  ever  labored 
more  diligently  or  more  intelligently  or  efficiently  than  he 
did  during  that  warm  summer  of  1838.  .  .  .  By  his  ear- 
nest persuasions,  he  induced  both  Mr.  Webster  (on  the 
4th  of  July)  and  Mr.  Buchanan,  and  others,  to  espouse 
our  cause  distinctly  and  earnestly,  in  strong  speeches.  He 
alone  brought  the  whole  question  out  of  its  narrow  locality 
in  the  State  into  a  national  matter,  regarded  as  one  of 
interest  to  the  whole  country,  involving  questions  of  peace 
and  war,  which  were  fast  becoming  imminent  and  peril- 
ous. ...  I  have  always  believed  that  Maine  owed  more 
to  him  than  to  any  other  man  in  thus  bringing  the  whole 
subject  before  the  nation  and  compelling  action."  In  a 
letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Daveis,  under  date  of  July  15, 
1838,  Gov.  Kent  says :  "  You  have  breathed  into  them  the 
breath  of  life,  and  have  done  more  to  advance  our  cause, 
and  place  this  matter  on  its  true  basis,  and  bring  the 
administration  to  a  right  position,  than  any  other  man  has 
ever  done.  I  am  more  than  satisfied  ;  I  am  delighted,  not 
more  with  the  success  than  with  the  skill  and  indefatigable 
and  persevering  and  able  manner  in  which  you  have  pre- 
sented and  enforced  our  right."  Mr.  Daveis  submitted  to 
the  Governor  a  lengthy  and  valuable  report  of  his  mission, 
which  was  laid  before  the  legislature. 

The  following  year,  the  draft  of  a  convention  having 
been  received  from  England,  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Forsyth,  made  a  special  visit  to  Maine,  to  learn  the  views 
of  the  leading  men.  With  this  object,  at  the  President's 
suggestion,  Gov.  Fairfield  and  Senator  Williams  of  the 
dominant  party,  and  Ex-Governor  Kent  and  Mr.  Daveis 
as  representatives  of  the  Whig  opposition,  were  invited 


12 


to  a  private  conference.  They  met  Mr.  Forsyth  at  Port- 
land on  the  18th  of  June,  and,  after  a  harmonious  con- 
sultation for  two  days,  drew  up  and  signed  a  paper, 
disapproving  the  British  proposition  and  the  counter- 
project  of  the  American  government,  and  embodying  their 
own  views  in  the  matter. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Daveis,  being  a  member  of  the  State  Sen- 
ate, as  chairman  of  the  joint  special  committee  on  the 
North-Eastern  Boundary,  submitted  on  the  30th  of  March 
an  able  and  dignified  report  of  fifty-five  pages,  accom- 
panied with  a  series  of  resolutions  breathing  a  spirit  of 
calm  and  unflinching  determination,  which  were  adopted 
unanimously  in  the  Senate,  and  in  the  House  by  a  large 
majority.  In  May,  he  was  summoned  to  a  private  confer- 
ence on  the  subject,  at  Boston,  with  Mr.  Webster,  then 
Secretary  of  State. 

The  following  year,  Lord  Ashburton's  special  mission, 
resulting  in  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  closed  the  vexed 
question  for  ever.  In  this  last  act  of  the  drama,  Mr. 
Daveis  took  no  part.  During  the  long  years  in  which 
he  was  identified  with  the  controversy,  his  feelings  had 
become  warmly  enlisted  on  the  side  of  his  native  State  ; 
and  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  uncompromising 
and  zealous  advocates  of  her  right.  It  was  not  unnatural 
therefore  that,  while  acquiescing  in  the  result,  he  couljt 
not  give  his  cordial  approval  to  the  terms  of  settlement. 

In  politics  Mr.  Daveis  was  a  Federalist,  and  afterwards 
an  ardent  Whig.  Unlike  most  of  his  political  associates, 
however,  he  admitted  the  justice  of  the  war  of  1812.  In 
1840,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  of  which  he  was 
an  influential  member ;  presiding  at  its  organization,  and 
serving  as  chairman  of  the  joint  special  committee  on  the 
North-Eastern  Boundary,  and  also  as  chairman  of  the 
joint  standing  committee  on  the  judiciary.  In  1848  he 


13 


was  a  warm  and  active  supporter  of  Gen.  Taylor  for  the 
Presidency,  and  was  nominated  on  the  Whig  State  ticket 
for  Elector-at-large,  but  was  beaten  by  a  considerable 
plurality,  the  State  casting  its  vote  for  Gen.  Cass. 

In  the  midst  of  his  engrossing  public  and  professional 
duties,  Mr.  Daveis  never  failed  to  find  time  for  literary 
pursuits,  in  which  he  delighted  and  excelled.  A  diligent 
student,  gifted  with  fine  abilities  and  a  rare  memory, 
he  acquired  an  eminent  reputation  for  scholarship,  and 
especially  for  his  familiarity  with  classical  lore.  He  wrote 
much,  and,  in  his  earlier  years,  often  in  verse ;  and  was 
a  frequent  contributor  to  the  newspapers  and  periodicals 
of  the  time,  including  occasionally  the  "  North  American 
Review."  He  also  delivered  many  public  addresses,  charm- 
ing his  hearers  by  the  grace  of  his  manner  no  less  than 
by  the  beauty  of  his  language.  His  productions  were 
classical  and  scholarly,  elaborately  prepared,  and  carefully 
adapted  to  express  the  most  delicate  shades  of  meaning. 
His  legal  studies  seem,  however,  at  first,  to  have  left  him 
less  time  than  he  could  have  wished  for  such  pursuits ; 
for  in  1809  he  writes  to  his  friend,  Mr.  James  Savage, 
"  My  Lord  Coke  has  -proved  almost  too  much  for  Dan 
Apollo,  and  the  charms  of  belles-lettres  have  been  almost 
lost  in  the  shades  of  black  letter." 

His  eminent  literary  abilities  were  first  brought  to 
public  notice  by  an  elegant  and  classical  oration  on  Greek 
Literature,  delivered  in  Sept.  1808,  at  Bowdoin  College, 
before  the  Peucinian  Society,  of  which  he  had  been  among 
the  founders ;  and  afterwards  published  in  the  Monthly 
Anthology,  prefaced  with  a  most  complimentary  editorial 
note.  This  oration  procured  him  an  invitation  to  contrib- 
ute to  that  fastidious  publication,  and  an  election  as  cor- 
responding member  of  the  Anthology  Club.  Among  his 
other  public  addresses  may  be  mentioned  an  oration  deliv- 


ered  to  the  Federal  Republicans  of  Portland,  July  4, 1812 ; 
a  historical  oration  at  Fryeburg,  May  19,  1825,  on  the 
hundredth  anniversary  of  Lovewell's  Indian  fight ;  an  ora- 
tion delivered,  at  the  request  of  the  citizens'  committee, 
on  the  9th  of  August,  1826,  on  the  death  of  Adams  and 
Jefferson  ;  and  a  second  Fourth  of  July  oration  at  Portland, 
in  1831.  In  1853  he  wrote  for  the  New  Hampshire  His- 
torical Society  a  memoir  of  Gov.  Gilman,  which  was  read 
at  Exeter  on  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Governor's 
birth,  Dec.  19.  On  the  death  of  Judge  S£ory,  Mr.  Daveis 
drew  up  a  series  of  beautiful  and  feeling  resolutions,  which 
were  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  for  the  District  of  Maine,  held  at  Portland, 
Oct.  1,  1845. 

Mr.  Daveis  was  an  ardent  student  of  American  history, 
and  collected  much  material  for  a  life  of  Gen.  Knox, 
which  was  to  have  formed  one  of  the  concluding  series 
of  Mr.  Sparks's  biographies,  and  for  which  the  General's 
family  papers  were  placed  at  his  disposal.  Professional 
duties,  however ;  the  extended  scope  of  the  work,  embrac- 
ing a  sketch  of  the  artillery  service  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war ;  and,  finally,  an  attack  of  paralysis,  —  indefi- 
nitely postponed  the  completion  of  this  cherished  design, 
which,  though  perhaps  never  formally  renounced,  remained 
at  last  unfulfilled. 

To  his  Alma  Mater  Mr.  Daveis  always  cherished  a  strong 
attachment,  and  served  her  faithfully  for  many  years.  In 
1820  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers, of  which  he  was  several  years  Vice-President ; 
and  in  1836  he  became  one  of  the  Trustees,  retaining  the 
position  until  induced  by  declining  health  to  resign  it  in 
1864.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society, 
of  which  he  was  for  many  years  Corresponding  Secretary, 
and  later  Vice-President  and  President.  On  the  1st  of  Sep- 


15 


tember,  1835,  on  the  formation  of  the  Alumni  Society,  of 
which  he  was  chosen  the  first  President,  he  delivered  an 
oration,  which  was  highly  praised  by  Judge  Story,  as  "  full 
of  strong  and  vivid  thought,"  and  pronounced  to  "  add  to 
his  former  efforts  a  new  claim  upon  the  gratitude  of  the 
scholars  of  the  country."  In  Sept.  1839,  at  the  inaugura- 
tion of  President  Woods,  Mr.  Daveis  delivered  a  Latin 
address,  which  was  responded  to  by  the  President.  He 
also  wrote,  for  the  dedication  of  the  new  King  Chapel  at 
Brunswick,  an  able  and  valuable  address  on  the  history  of 
the  college,  which  was  delivered  on  the  1st  of  September, 
1854.  In  1844  he  received  from  the  college  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

Mr.  Daveis  was  in  1828  elected  a  member  of  the  Maine 
Historical  Society,  and  was  subsequently  chosen  a  corre- 
sponding member  of  the  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp- 
shire Societies,  and  an  honorary  member  of  those  of  New 
York  and  Georgia.  In  1814  he  was  chosen  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  at  Harvard  Col- 
lege, there  being  then  no  chapter  of  the  Society  at 
Brunswick. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  Mr. 
Daveis  always  felt  the  warmest  interest,  and  for  many 
years  took  a  very  active  part.  Elected  a  member  in  1809, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  as  successor  to  his  father, 
he  was  in  1839  chosen  a  member  of  the  standing  com- 
mittee, on  which  he  served  until  1851,  when  he  was  elected 
Vice-President.  In  1853,  on  the  death  of  Robert  G.  Shaw, 
Esq.,  he  was  chosen  President,  and  was  successively  re- 
elected  to  that  office  until  his  death  in  1865.  He  pre- 
pared a  new  edition  of  the  "  Institution  and  Proceedings  " 
of  the  Society,  which  in  1856  was  ordered  to  be  printed. 
He  was  often  chosen  delegate  to  the  meetings  of  the 
General  Societv,  and  in  1854  was  elected  Vice-President- 


16 


General,  an  office  which  he  retained  until  his  death.  In 
1859  he  wrote  for  Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  a  historical 
account  of  the  Society.  After  his  death,  appropriate 
resolutions  were  passed  at  the  General  Meeting  at  Tren- 
ton, May  9,  1866,  and  by  the  State  Society  at  Boston. 

In  his  active  career,  Mr.  Daveis  was  suddenly  arrested, 
on  the  28th  of  April,  1850,  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  which 
partially  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  his  right  side.  He  so 
far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  resume  his  ever-busy  pen 
and  to  mingle  once  more  in  society,  but  he  never  returned 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Ten  years  later,  on  the 
3d  of  April,  1860,  his  wife  died  after  a  long  period  of 
feeble  health.  Mr.  Daveis  survived  her  nearly  five  years, 
under  the  constantly  increasing  burthen  of  bodily  infirmity, 
enduring  with  unmurmuring  Christian  resignation  the  in- 
activity so  wearisome  to  an  energetic  and  social  spirit,  until 
the  29th  of  March,  1865,  when,  in  his  native  town,  on  the 
site  of  his  father's  old  home,  he  quietly  breathed  his  last, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 

Mr.  Daveis  was  a  man  of  earnest  religious  character,  the 
beauty  and  sincerity  of  which  were  amply  attested  by  his 
whole  life,  and  most  of  all  by  the  last  sad  years  of  fee- 
bleness and  bereavement,  borne  with  heroic  and  touching 
resignation.  His  faith  was  unquestioning,  and  his  rever- 
ence for  sacred  and  lofty  things  profound.  Of  a  truly 
chivalrous  nature,  he  combined  in  a  rare  degree  manly 
energy  and  fearlessness  with  a  womanly  tenderness  and 
purity ;  commanding  the  sincere  respect  of  all,  and  the 
warmest  affection  of  those  whose  privilege  it  was  to  know 
him  well.  Though  an  untiring  worker,  he  always  found 
time  to  assist  those  who  were  deserving  of  aid,  especially 
young  men.  His  manners  were  dignified,  courtly,  affable  ; 
and,  under  whatever  provocation,  always  eminently  those 
of  a  Christian  gentleman.  He  was  not  prone  to  entertain 


17 


extreme   views,  and    his  bearing  towards   his  opponents 
was  ever  respectful  and  courteous. 

In  social  life  his  conversation  sparkled  with  wit,  and 
with  classical  quotations  and  anecdotes,  of  which  he  pos- 
sessed a  large  fund.  He  was  of  middle  height,  slender 
and  graceful,  elegant  in  figure,  and  very  agile  in  his  move- 
ments. Mr.  Daveis  had  five  children  ;  namely,  — 

JOHN  TAYLOR  GILMAN,  M.D.,  of  Portland,  an  eminent  oculist, 

who  d.  May  9,  1873. 
EDWARD  HENRY,  a  member  of  the  bar  in  Portland,  and  editor 

of  some  volumes  of  law  reports. 
MARY  COGSWKLL,  who  m.  the  Rev.  David  Greene  Haskins  of 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

ANNA  TICKNOR,  who  m.  Charles  Jones  of  Portland. 
CAROLINE  ELIZABETH,  who  d.  in  infancy,  Dec.  14,  1827. 


